The Key to Frictionless Global Supply Chain Execution

Whether you subscribe to the notion that blockchain-enabled supply chain solutions will see meaningful adoption this year, this decade, or never, it is impossible to deny the tsunami of investments moving the industry from concepts to enterprise-wide deployments.

Over the next decade, the way procurement is executed will change. Organizations must identify all of their business entities, buying habits, cost information, benchmarking and more to obtain real-time data in a predictive form. Without it, there will be knowledge loss as experienced supply management professionals leave the business; customer loss; being viewed as a less favorable supplier; less financial investment from shareholders; reduced market share; and a non-sustainable business model.

ROI from Visibility Solutions is Clearly There – Here are a Number of Places You can Find It

Today, the vast majority of enterprise-class companies are global. Why? The benefits of sourcing from low cost countries and selling into new foreign markets are too strong to dismiss. Unfortunately, many still make due with sub-standard global processes and technologies borrowed from domestic operations. Global transportation and supply chain visibility are two such areas. Here are some questions to ask yourself to highlight ways you may be losing money without the right processes in place for global shipments.

Over-Reliance On Expedited Shipping

While some shippers must always use expedited shipping because their products are time-sensitive, many organizations use it to compensate when something has failed in the supply chain. Examining opportunities to reduce expedited airfreight and move to ocean freight is always a good cost-reduction strategy for global shippers. When evaluating this opportunity, ask yourself these questions:

Do I have enough visibility into my inbound shipments against orders to make trade-offs that will still meet customer demand without having to expedite shipments?

Do I need to pay for expedited inbound shipping from my suppliers? Where can I find more lead time in the planning process?

Is my inventory system giving me enough information about ordering timeframes so I can avoid the cost of rush orders?

Through better planning and supply chain visibility, most global shippers can reduce expedited freight by 15 – 20% annually. This translates to significant costs savings for global companies with even moderate shipping volumes.